- USDA Gets Tougher on Salmonella in Raw Breaded Chicken Products
- Fragments of Bird Flu Virus Found in 1 in 5 Milk Samples
- Clients Got HIV Through ‘Vampire Facial’ Microneedling Treatments
- Take the Stairs & Step Up to Longer Life
- ‘Drug Take Back Day’ is Saturday: Check for Leftover Opioids in Your Home
- Loneliness Can Shorten Lives of Cancer Survivors
- A Stolen Dog Feels Like Losing a Child, Study Finds
- Healthier Hearts in Middle Age Help Black Women’s Brains Stay Strong
- Better Scans Spot Hidden Inflammation in MS Patients
- Which Patients and Surgeries Are ‘High Risk’ for Seniors?
Lengthy Space Missions May Harm Astronauts’ Vision
Researchers have pinpointed the cause of a vision problem affecting astronauts who have completed long-duration space missions.
The condition — called visual impairment intracranial pressure (VIIP) — has been reported by nearly two-thirds of astronauts after extended time on the International Space Station.
The astronauts experienced blurred vision and were found to have structural changes, such as flattening at the back of their eyeballs and inflammation in their optic nerves.
VIIP is caused by changes in the volume of clear fluid found around the brain and spinal cord, according to the study.
“People initially didn’t know what to make of it, and by 2010 there was growing concern as it became apparent that some of the astronauts had severe structural changes that were not fully reversible upon return to Earth,” study lead author Noam Alperin said in a news release from the Radiological Society of North America. Alperin is a professor of radiology and biomedical engineering at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Identifying the cause of VIIP is expected to aid efforts to protect astronauts during long space missions. NASA is assessing several possible preventive measures.
“If the ocular structural deformations are not identified early, astronauts could suffer irreversible damage. As the eye globe becomes more flattened, the astronauts become hyperopic, or farsighted,” Alperin said.
The findings are scheduled for presentation Monday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, in Chicago. Research presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
More information
NASA has more on vision impairment and intracranial pressure.
Source: HealthDay
Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.